ANDREYEV, Leonid Nikolae vich, Russian writer: b. Orel 1871. After studying law at the universities of Moscow and St. Petersburg he found himself temperament ally unsuited for the task of making a living, which so depressed him that he attempted suicide when only 23 years of age. He finally found a position as police court reporter for a Mos cow paper. This led to his attempting to write short stories, which were published in the daily papers. It was some of these that attracted the attention of Maxim Gorky to him, and this was the beginning of his success. From then until the present time he has been a prolific writer of short stories, essays and dramas. By many he is considered the leading writer of Russia and a brilliant genius. The first collection of his stories was issued in 1901 and a quarter million copies were sold within a short time. His stories have since been published in all European languages. Those that are available in English are 'The Red Laugh' (1905); 'The Seven Who Were Hanged' (1909); 'Judas Iscariot and the Others' (1910); 'A Dilemma' (1910) ; 'Anathema' (1910); 'Silence and other Stories' (1910). Besides these many others have appeared in American and English magazines as follows: 'The Burglar,' in Current Literature (May 1905); 'His Excellency the Governor,' in Harper's Weekly (9 Feb. to 2 March 1907); 'To the
Stars' in Poet Lore (Winter 1907); 'Lazarus,' in Current Literature (May 1907) ; 'The Life of Man,' in Oxford and Cambridge Review (Midsummer 1908) ; 'Life is so Beautiful to the Resurrected,' in Current Literature (Sep tember 1910); 'Love of One's Neighbor,' in The Glebe (January 1914). Like most of the Russian short story writers there is an abnor mal, morbid taint in Andreyev's stories that does not appeal to the American mind. The critics have experienced difficulty in classify ing him. He has abandoned the traditional methods so apparent in his earlier work and his eccentricities have increased with the years. His philosophy is that of fatalism; most of his heroes landing in the grave or the madhouse. Andreyev is not a realist, however, but rather a mystic with keen analytic power who writes with great originality and brilliancy, yet creates no new types nor delineated real characters. See ANATHEMA ( ANDREYEV'S ).